Food and Nutrition Security : Taking urgent action to save 49.5 million lives and build the foundations for food and nutrition resilience in the Sahel and West Africa

In the Sahel and West Africa, approximately 49.5 million people are at risk of food and nutrition insecurity during the 2024 lean season. Members of the Network are issuing a call to action to implement concrete measures to immediately address the food and nutrition crisis. The policy brief draws on the findings of the annual and restricted meetings held on 5-8 December 2023, and 3-5 April 2024, respectively. It highlights key messages and major implications for regional organisations (ECOWAS, UEMOA, CILSS). This policy brief was produced by the Sahel and West Africa Club Secretariat (SWAC/OECD) and the CILSS Executive Secretariat.

Key messages

• Between April 2019 and April 2024, the number of people affected by the food crisis has multiplied by seven, soaring from 5 to 35.3 million. Insecurity and inflation are exacerbating the crisis.
• The persistent underfunding of responses to food crises jeopardizes the achievement of the zero-hunger goal by 2030.

Implications

• Implement concrete actions to immediately address the current food and nutrition crisis,
• Seize the opportunity of the revising agricultural policies (ECOWAP and PAU) to implement appropriate measures and instruments, promoting more effective prevention of recurrent food crisis.